فصلنامه حکمت اسلامی
پیاپی 36 (بهار 1402)

Muslim philosophers initially divide the intelligibles into two types; the primary intelligibles and the secondary intelligibles. The secondary intelligibles, based on the difference in the source of abstraction of some of its referents from others, further divide into two types: logical and philosophical types. The philosophers, adhering to different schools of thought, have suggested solutions to the state of attaining the primary intelligibles. But regarding the process of attaining the secondary intelligibles (especially the philosophical type), no specific scheme has been offered. Apparently, Allamah Tabataba’i is the first one to offer a specific scheme with regards to the process of attaining all the intelligibles (especially the philosophical secondary intelligibles). This paper follows the descriptive analytical approach. While pointing to the background of the discussion on the mode of attaining the intelligibles, the viewpoint of Allamah Tabataba’i is evaluated and critiqued, and eventually an accepted viewpoint of the author has been presented. The aim of this paper is to show that Allamah Tabatabai’s scheme with respect to the quality of attaining the intelligibles (especially the philosophical secondary intelligibles) is incomplete and the right viewpoint is the same scheme that is proposed by Sadruddin Shirazi and is explained according to the reality of faculty of estimation and its scope. In the works of some researchers, it is termed as intellectual witnessing.

This paper explores the position of principle of causality in explaining the divine action based on the viewpoint of Mulla Sadra and its compatibility with the religious texts. It pursues the hypothesis that by analyzing the causality and explaining the copulative existence of contingent identities, the divine action, based on his thoughts, is the reflection of the divine attributes and the manifestation of the divine names in the contingent manifested beings. On this basis, the effect, because of its dependent identity and existential indigence, does not exist separate from its cause, as such that the perception of its existence is impossible without the perception of the one it is dependent on. Therefore, the divine action is the manifestation and the contingent beings do not have any reality but being the reflection of the divine in essence, attributes and actions. Their absolute indigence is explained by the three domains discussed in the paper, from the aspect of coming into existence (ḥudūth) and their continuance. The whole universe is the mirror of His beauty, of course proportional to the capacity of the contingent identities. Amongst the outstanding results of this philosophical account are: the unity in creation, mastership and lordship, absolute divine presence and manifestation, Allah being the only praiser and the praised one, the concomitance of divine action with the objective reality of praise in the entire universe in all its immensity and eventually the proper combination of intellect and narration. Therefore, God, as an originating agent, is ever manifested and omnipresent.

Most of the propositions that are used in sciences do not belong to the class of natural propositions. Rather, the natural propositions are amongst the logical propositions. This matter is effective in recognizing the position of this proposition in logic and the classification of the statements of other sciences. Before 7th AH, no independent observation of this statement existed. Khūnajī and Abhari were the pioneers in introducing it in the discussions on logic. Amongst the first discussions surrounding the natural propositions is that it is either singular, indefinite or independent of these two. The outcome of this discussion becomes evident while dividing the propositions into three or four. The sphere and domain of natural propositions that is reflected in its definition, is another discussion related to this proposition that is demonstrated in its division into four or five types. Recognizing the components of natural propositions plays a direct role in recognizing its essence and distinguishing it from other propositions. Extending the discussion on natural propositions to discussions that are imaginary and its link to the second degree knowledge, increases the range of its practical application.

The main week point of Islamic philosophy is not its abstract nature rather it is the absence of practicality i.e. the Islamic philosophical issues have mostly been discussed in terms of mental aspects and have not been put into practice. Among all Muslim philosophers, Allama Tabataba’i seeks to synthesize the philosophical issues with practice and life. One of his attempts reflects in his explanation of Mulla Sadra's views on causality; Mulla Sadra employs connective existence innovatively in his theory of causality. Disciples of Mulla Sadra, including Allama Tabataba’i, followed his way too. Allama Tabataba’i employs Mulla Sadra's theory in his moral discussions which are inspired by the Holy Qur'an (the method of Ihraq). Also, he discusses the causality in a specific way in which finds expression in his Qur'anic commentaries. Based on the theory, the effect only represents the role of connective existence and is fully dependent on the cause. The theory and its monotheistic approach lead humans to avoid vice and immoral behavior. Because the vice behavior is rooted in the evil-prompting self and egotism. Therefore, Allama Tabataba’i's approach would leave no room for egotism

God has the attributes of action and His action originates from His essence. Everything else is Allah’s action. God is one, indivisible and unchangeable, but His action is multiple and changeable. Thus, the question arises that how could the changeable actions emanate from the stable and unchangeable divine essence. The relationship between the attributes of action and the divine essence must be explained in such a way that it does not result in imperfection and finiteness of God. Mulla Sadra, based on the principles of primacy of existence, graded unity, and the principle of indivisible reality, introduces divine attributes as hierarchical degrees. He explains the relationship between the attributes of action and the essence in a way that is in harmony with the unity and stability of God.This paper, using the descriptive analytical approach, firstly, elaborates Mulla Sadra’s explanation of the relationship between the attributes of action and the divine essence. Following that, it analyses “the attributes of essence and the divine action”, “the state of emanation of action” and “hierarchical degrees of divine attributes in the verses and narrations”. The words of Allamah Majlisī and Fayḍ Kāshānī on this topic are also cited. Thereafter, Mulla Sadra’s viewpoint is investigated in light of religious texts. His viewpoint and the manner of explanation of the attributes and the state of the relationship of attributes of action and essence can also be derived from the verses and narrations.

One of the theories presented in transcendent philosophy’s epistemology is that “the cognitive form is considered as the first object known by accident and the external object of knowledge is considered as the second object known by accident”. According to this theory, “knowledge” is an existential entity and an object known by essence. The cognitive form or the mental image is an essential entity (a quiddity) and an object known by accident. Likewise, the external object of knowledge that is perceived through the cognitive form is the second object known by accident. By elaborating this theory, it could be realized that this theory has structural as well as fundamental problems. Firstly, because, if the cognitive image is accepted as an essential entity (a quiddity) due to the fact that existence is only a mediator of subsistence for quiddity (and not the mediator of establishment) and also due to the fact that the criterion for conformity of knowledge with the known object is knowledge’s superior existence (and not the unity of quiddity), it can be realized that neither the cognitive form is the first object known by accident nor the external object of knowledge is the second object known by accident. Secondly, by proving the cognitive image as an existential object, the basis of this theory collapses. The cognitive form is the object known by essence, as asserted by Mulla Sadra.

Several conditions are mentioned for the elements of burhān (apodictic proof). Being universal is one of them. On the other hand, at least some of the elements lack this condition in case of singular propositions. Therefore, it seems that the logicians have suffered some kind of contradiction. The question is, can this contradiction be resolved? If possible, how is it possible? To answer this question, initially the singular propositions and their referents are defined and finally, the conclusion is reached that the difference between the elements and the premises of burhān must be taken into consideration. The elements are the foundations and used in a broader sense than the premises. Therefore, the elements include the premises of burhān as well as those propositions that the arguments ultimately lead to. Different names used for the elements of proposition by the logicians is an evidence to this claim that the elements are those propositions that are the result of proofs, and not necessarily the propositions that are used in the premises of burhān. Another evidence of this claim is that the vicious circle, the infinite regress and the law of non-contradiction are also, sometimes, considered as the elements of burhān, alongside the axioms.

Imam Khomeini is amongst the few thinkers who paid attention to the issue of natural disposition (fitrah) and discussed it comprehensively. In Imam Khomeini's system of thought, the issue of fitrah has a special place. He, following the teachings of transcendent philosophy and his teacher, the late Mohammad Ali Shahabadi, has discussed issues related to fitrah that are not found in the works of his predecessors. Contrary to some thinkers, who consider fitrah to include some knowledge and inclinations, Imam Khomeini believes that everyone’s fitrah belongs to the category of inclinations and tendencies and considers it to be love for absolute perfection and aversion to imperfection. But it is clear that inclination is not possible without knowledge. However, knowledge that lies in the inclination is a type of knowledge by presence and not acquired knowledge. Imam Khomeini's innovative thoughts that have been proven in this article include: the innateness of belief in the existence of an origin, the innateness of belief in divine guardianship (wilayah), the innateness of belief in resurrection, a new presentation of the ‘proof of natural disposition’, new style of explaining religious ethics, the role of natural disposition in political movement and the introduction of terminologies. The present research, with the descriptive-ijtihad approach, has discussed and investigated the innovations of the late Imam Khomeini with regard to his works.

The philosophers of transcendent philosophy believe that the Friends of Allah are channelize the divine will. Without their intermediation, the material life of creation would completely vanish. Invoking the friends of Allah for the fulfilment of ones needs and their intercession is something that is approved by the intellect as well as the narrations. Based on intellect, the intermediation of the Friends of Allah for experiencing the light and grace of Allah, forgiveness of sins and the removal of punishment, has various ontological, theological and psychological basis.In this paper, using the descriptive analytical approach, ontological basis of invocation and intercession are derived, analyzed and proven. The relationship between these bases and the problem of invocation and intercession is established. According to the writers of this paper, three undisputed and reasonable principles such as “primacy of existence and graded existence”, “the principle of the unit” and “the principle of the nobler contingent”, are amongst the rational basis of invocation and intercession. By analyzing these three principles, the realization of intermediaries of divine grace and their intermediation is established.

One of the most important and productive discussions in the philosophy of humanities is to prove the realism of human values and reject relativism. According to the Islamic philosophy foundations in the philosophy of humanities, the human values have their roots in objective realities and human mind, irrespective of the conditions that surround it, can comprehend those realities and make others know them too. This means that if we want to comprehend the realities of humanities and the values discussed in it, we must completely free our minds from the personal tastes and understandings, as well as the general tastes and collective agreements, and rely on the intellect and the intellectual arguments. But some believe that even with this assumption, freeing the mind from such conditions is not possible, since the course of the intellectual argument must eventually end at two fundamental self-evident propositions and there is no proof of their conformity with the real world but that the mind and the mental structure, at present, is such that it prefers these propositions over their contradictions. Thus the self-evident propositions, instead of conforming to reality, are accepted due to their conformity with the mental structure and its conditions. Hence they are relative. When the fundamental self-evident propositions are considered relative, all the propositions based on them, especially the humanities, are relative as well and dependent on the mental structure. On the other hand, some Muslim thinkers have answered this issue by dividing the self-evident propositions to propositions of inner experiences (wijdāniyāt) and primary premises (awwaliyāt). Their answer with regards to the wijdāniyāt is clear and acceptable due to the fact that its representation is present near the soul. But the criterion for the truth of primary self-evident premise is always under discussion and is subject to many controversies. Here, Allamah Misbah guides us towards a novel answer. He seeks the criteria of truth of these propositions in the return to the knowledge of presence. The main objective of this paper is to precisely explain this theory in the section on the primary self-evident premises and their strong relationship with the subjective consideration of humanities. Therefore, with hope in Allah, using the descriptive analytical approach, we try to present a convincing discussion on the value of comprehending the humanities and answer the concerns of thinkers, raised as a result of ambiguity in the criteria of truth of primary self-evident premises.

Philosophical investigations enjoy special rank amongst contemporary Muslim thinkers. Rational defense of the theoretical foundations of religion is based on the results of these investigations. Undoubtedly, those philosophical studies are successful that have a methodology and are based on research criteria particular to this academic field. Ayatullah Misbah Yazdi, a renowned contemporary philosopher of the Muslim world, in his philosophical lectures and written works, has applied a novel and efficient method in philosophical studies. In this paper, using the descriptive analytical approach, by emphasizing on the famous philosophical work of Ayatullah Misbah Yazdi (Philosophical Instructions), his method is analyzed. Based on the research findings, the stages of methodological philosophy investigation are as follows: paying attention to the gaps and impasses in western philosophical discussions, deep critical analysis of the problem, examining the background, precise understanding, explanation and analysis of the problem, examining the proposed or possible points of view about the problem, paying attention to the outcomes of the points of view, paying attention to the usefulness of the discussion, precisely describing the opponent's point of view and its arguments, paying attention to the origin of the theory, criticizing and examining the opponent's point of view and its arguments, providing a valid argument for the chosen point of view, answering to criticisms raised or can be raised about the arguments of the chosen point of view, answering the related doubts, considering the result, observing the gradual course of the plan, deep philosophical analysis in a systematic way and applying the general rules to the problems of other sciences.

After the Islamic revolution of Iran, Allamah Misbah shed light on the issues raised about religious government and wilayah al-faqih (guardianship of the Jurist). He presented his views clearly in his books, interviews and numerous lectures and took strong stance against the views that were not in agreement with the Islamic belief system. Hence, he was subjected to allegations by his opponents, such as, he was accused of believing in religious dictatorship, who believes people only have the duty to obey the Wali al-faqih and that’s it.In this paper, by referring to his explicit words, the responsibilities and duties of religious government towards the people and the rights of people on the government are elaborated from his viewpoint, so that it could be established that he believes in religious democracy, and not religious dictatorship.In order to research the main issue of this paper, the secondary issues like “meaning of religious government”, “meaning of right to sovereignty”, “relationship between right and obligation” etc. are first analyzed. The research methodology of this paper is logical analytical approach.